Alone in The Woods
by potat lasaro
Summary: Having spent most of his childhood alone, young trainer Nick knew what it felt like to be abandoned. Meeting a Phantump by chance as he's being released, how can Nick help the hurt pokemon. One-shot for my story Champions and Crushes. Meant as some background info for a character
**Welcome everyone. For those who don't know, this is a one shot meant to give a little more background info on a character in my story "Champions and Crushes". If you haven't read that yet, then you might feel lost. But, reading the other story isn't necessary. Anyway, enjoy the story.**

* * *

"You hear something, Eevee," Nick asked as he and his trusty partner were making their way towards Laverre City. They had been in Kalos for a few months now and were heading there for Nick's fourth gym badge.

"Vee?" The normal type asked as he looked around. Eevee hadn't heard anything, but obviously its trainer had. Hopefully he wasn't losing his mind.

"Yeah, it came from over here," Nick muttered as he made his way through some bushes. As he crawled through them, he could start to make out a conversation that was happening. Peeking through the bush, Nick could make out what appeared to be a trainer and a strange looking pokemon. Pulling out his pokedex, Nick scanned it.

"Phantump, the stump pokemon. Phantump are rumored to be stumps that have been possessed by spirits. They prefer to live in abandoned forests." The pokedex explained as Nick placed it away.

"Strange," Nick muttered as Eevee looked through the bush as well. Something seemed different about this Phantump. The one in the pokedex looked happy, but this one looked to be depressed for some reason. "I wonder what could have happened."

As if answering his question, the other trainer started to talk to the Phantump. "Stop following me!" The man cried out as he turned around and faced the grass type. He appeared angered by the persistent pokemon. "I told you before, you're useless! I released you and you still follow me, just go away!" He yelled out before walking again.

"Phan! Phantump! Tump!" Phantump cried out as he latched onto his ex-trainer's leg. Holding on as well as he could, Phantump could feel himself be kicked off of the person's leg and into a tree. "Phan?"

"I told you, go away!" The trainer cried out one more time before pulling out Phantump's old pokeball. Placing it on the ground, the trainer swiftly crushed the capture device. "See, your pokeball is destroyed, leave me alone!"

Nick just sat there as he watched Phantump crying as his trainer continued on. Something about Phantump just reminded him of himself. "We need to do something, Eevee," Nick muttered as they continued to sit there. "Phantump is just like me, or at least until I met you," he said giving the normal type a smile.

"Eevee," the normal type muttered as he looked at his trainer. He hadn't known much about Nick from the time before they met, but he didn't seem to talk about it often.

* * *

"Gram, I'm back!" A young Nick came running into his grandmother's house. He had been living there since he could remember since he dad was always away for business and his mom was living in a special house since she had grown really tired. Or at least that was what his grams told him when he was younger.

Walking through the house, he noticed something was different. The windows were all shut and it was dark in the house. His gram would never let the house get this dark, she loved keeping the house lit brightly. In fact, the wild pokemon usually found nearby the house were also away.

"Gram!?" Nick called again as he grew worried. It wasn't like her to not respond. As he continued through the house, he could hear someone in the kitchen. Not knowing what to do, he picked up a small stick that was sitting next to the fire place.

Walking into the kitchen, Nick saw a large figure sitting at the table and swung the stick at it. Not even realizing what happened, Nick felt his stick get caught before he was lifted off the ground. "What's the big idea?" The man asked as he lifted Nick up off the ground.

Something seemed familiar about the man, but Nick couldn't put his finger on it. Kicking away wildly, Nick finally got the man to let go of his stick. Using it to keep a distance between them, Nick started to question the stranger in his house. "W-who are you!? Where's my gram?" he asked while wiping away a few tears.

The man seemed hurt by the question. Moving out of the darkness, his features were more recognizable and Nick understood why he seemed familiar. "That hurt," the man joked as he looked at Nick. "I leave for a short amount of time and you don't even recognize your own father?"

"A short amount of time doesn't mean two years!" Nick shot back as he turned away from his father. The man had practically abandoned him after his mom had moved into her new house. He had tried to reach him, but he never responded. Besides his gram, Nick always thought he was alone in his little mountain home.

"Ouch," his father joked while rubbing the back of his head. He deserved that one. "I'm sorry, but you know how important my work is," he tried to apologize, but Nick wasn't having any of it. Sighing, he decided to pull out his last idea to get Nick to talk to him. "Gram told me about how you play with the pokemon in the woods. I found this little guy while on a business trip and thought he'd be perfect for you," he explained while pulling a pokeball out of his pocket and put it in his son's hands.

Nick stared amazed at the device. He had heard about pokemon trainers and pokeballs. He had been counting down the days until he could finally start his own journey, but that was still close to two years away.

"Go ahead, open it," his father told him as he watched Nick stare at the pokeball. A small smile crossed his face as his son opened the capture device.

"Vee!" An Eevee cried out before jumping into Nick's arms. The normal type seemed to be quite playful as he nuzzled against Nick's face.

"T-this, Eevee..." Nick tried to say while Eevee played with him. Seeing that it would be hard for his son to talk, Nick's father placed a hand on his head.

"Yes, that Eevee is yours. Take good care of it," he said before recalling it into his pokeball for his son.

"This is so cool; I can't wait to tell gram. She'll be excited by this," Nick said as he tried to leave the kitchen to look for his grandmother, only to be stopped by his father.

Not knowing what to say, Nick's father seemed to be trying to think of something. "Nick..." he started to say as he could feel sweat forming on his neck. How was he going to tell Nick that she was gone? "Um... Nick, gram is tired," he started to say as he continued thinking. "So... she figured that it would be best to go live with mom. They told me they were both enjoying their special house."

"Oh..." Nick muttered as he looked out the kitchen window. They had told him when his mom left that when someone got too tired, they were invited to live in this special house in the sky where they could rest. "Could I go and visit them sometime?" He asked despite knowing the answer already.

"You know the rules," his father replied while rubbing Nick's head. "You can visit when your older. Right now they're resting because they're really tired," he lied. To him, Nick was too young to know the truth. The boy would be turning eight in a few weeks now. "But, I have a surprise for you. How does watching the Silver Conference in person sound?"

Nick's spirits were immediately raised once he heard the question. "No way! The Silver Conference?" Nick asked as his dad nodded in agreement. "That's Johto's biggest competition for only the best trainers. Are we really going?"

"Yeah," Nick's father replied as he handed Nick a duffel bag full of clothes. "I got a few weeks off from work so I figured I'd spend them with you at the Silver Conference," he lied. There was no way he could tell his son what his real job was.

"You're the best!" Nick cried out before hugging his dad. He had planned on watching the Silver Conference at the Pokemon Center down the road, but that was almost a two-hour trip by foot and he doubted that his gram would have allowed him to make the trip by himself. "I can't believe you got us into the Silver conference.

* * *

"Vee?" Eevee asked as he looked at Nick. He had seemed to space out as he looked at the now wild Phantump.

"Huh?" He asked once he noticed Eevee staring at him. He must have spaced out once again. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking about something. That Phantump looks real lonely. Maybe we could do something, maybe invite him along with us," Nick thought out loud. No one deserved to be alone.

"Eevee!" Eevee cried out in agreement. It could possibly help them out on their quest for the Kalos League and for facing off against a certain trainer Nick had been wanting to face.

"Yeah, I think Phantump could help me in becoming a great trainer," Nick said as he started to think back to the past again.

* * *

"Watch closely, Nick," his father told him as the two trainers on the field were getting into it now. The announcer had explained earlier in the match how they were both from Pallet Town in the Kanto region.

"But, I can't see anything because of the steam down there," Nick said as he and Eevee both squinted at the field. The trainer with a Charizard had just had it use flamethrower all the over the field while his opponent had his Blastoise cool it off. The result was a layer of steam blocking out all visibility.

"Exactly," his father responded as they tried to watch the battle. "The way that Ash battles, you can tell he trusts his pokemon. How else would he come up with a strategy like this. Using the steam, he provided coverage for his Charizard to get in close," he explained just as the steam vanished and showed exactly what he had explained.

"Woah!" Nick cried out as he saw his dad was correct. The two pokemon now had their hands locked with each other's and were two close to launch any attacks. Before Nick could even say anything he watched as the Charizard on the field used seismic toss and won the match.

"See, Nick," his dad stated as he rubbed his son's head. He enjoyed spending time with his kid, but right now his work was more important.

"Dad," Nick said as he and Eevee looked up at his father. He had a question on his mind and he just had to ask it. "I've really enjoyed our time here. I know we still have a few more days, but once the Silver Conference is over... can I come with you to your work?"

Nick's dad flinched at the question. He had told Nick he was a business man for the Silph CO. but in reality it was something that he couldn't tell his son for the safety of both of them. "I... I'm sorry, but Nick... I can't have you come with me," he said while noticing the disappointed look in his eyes.

"When can I?" Nick asked as he looked down at the ground. He had been told before coming out here that following the Silver Conference he would be staying at a friend's place. The man's name was Professor Elm. Nick had thought Professor was weird first name, not realizing that it wasn't his name.

"How about when you become a great trainer like those two that just battled," his dad replied before smiling at his son. He figured if he said that, then he wouldn't have to worry about Nick coming with him.

"So, I just have to beat that Ash boy and then I can travel with you?" Nick asked hopefully as they got up out of the stands.

"Not exactly, it takes more than being strong to be a great trainer," his dad told him while they went towards a refreshments stand. "You have to be like him as well. Look at the way he cared for all his pokemon, he truly cares for their wellbeing. Being the strongest doesn't make you the best. A true trainer has heart, compassion, integrity, and above all else a love for all pokemon."

* * *

"Yeah, I think he'd be perfect for us," Nick said as he walked out of the bush. Shocking the Phantump, Nick raised his hands slowly as Eevee followed behind him. "Hey... It's alright. I saw you were crying and thought you were lonely."

"Phan?" The stump pokemon asked. He didn't know if he could trust this boy especially after what just happened to him.

Nick smiled as he sat down next to the grass and ghost type. "You know... I used to be alone just like you," he said, getting a surprised look from the pokemon. "Yeah, Eevee here... He's all the family I have left." Yeah, he still had his dad, but he hadn't seen or heard from him the day he was left with Professor Elm.

* * *

"Are you sure this is the correct choice, Michael?" Professor Elm asked as they stood outside his laboratory in New Bark Town. He hadn't approved with his old friend's choice and constantly told him about it. "Think about your son. He needs you in his life."

"I don't have a son..." He muttered as a few tears fell from his face. He then pulled out his wallet which contained a picture of his family. Pulling a lighter out, he caught the wallet, and his old family, on fire and dropped it. "It's best this way... The Pokemon G-Men said that if I continued to visit he would only be in harm's way."

"Then leave them," Elm shot back. He had no right to say anything about someone else's work as he always got caught up in his own, but even he knew that a child needed his father. "I'm sure with your battling skills you'd be able to open a gym up. You don't need the G-Men!"

"You know that isn't true," Michael responded as he walked away. He had joined years ago before Nick was born. Since seeing his son, it had only strengthened his resolve to make the world a better place. And now that Team Rocket had increased their activity to other regions, he had to also travel further. Stopping, he looked at Elm. "Just... Just remind him that I'll always love him."

* * *

"Vee?" Eevee asked as he saw Nick had spaced out again. Rubbing his head against his trainer's face, Nick snapped back to the present.

"Sorry..." Nick muttered as he remembered the years at Elm's Laboratory. Yeah, the man took care of him, but most of the time he was too busy with his research to actually worry about him. Shaking the thoughts out of his head, Nick smiled at Phantump. "But... I saw what happened earlier... With your previous trainer."

"Phan..." the stump pokemon muttered as he hung his head. He had grown close to the trainer and then out of nowhere he was released. A few tears started to form in its eyes.

"I think he's stupid," Nick said, catching the pokemon off guard. Keeping his smile, Nick stared at Phantump. "I think he's stupid for releasing an awesome pokemon like you. I don't think there is ever a thing like a useless pokemon. He's probably a bad trainer."

"Phan... Phantump..." it continued to mutter. That wasn't true. It was weak, unable to even beat pokemon it had type advantages against. It would understand if no one ever wanted it.

"Why don't you come with us?" Nick asked as he stood up. This shocked Phantump. "Like I told you, I think you're an awesome pokemon. Together we'll grow and win the Kalos League!"

"Phan?" Phantump asked. Why would anyone want him? He was just weak and useless like his previous trainer stated.

"Hey!" Nick yelled, causing the stump pokemon to jump in shock. "Stop talking like that, I told you before your old trainer was wrong. No pokemon is ever useless if you know how to raise them properly!"

"Eevee!" The normal type cried out in agreement. In the time they had traveled together, the duo had met many different pokemon and many of them had become extremely strong.

Seeing the reaction from the normal type, Phantump started to think. Maybe this guy was right, but a part of him doubted it. "Phan," he replied, sounding a little more confident.

"There you go," Nick replied as he pulled out a pokeball. He was really hoping that Phantump would travel with them since it reminded him a lot of himself. "I promise you, if you come along, I'll help you to become even stronger."

"Phan!" It agreed before jumping into the pokeball. The capture device shook three times before coming to a stop. Nick looked at the pokeball and smiled. Another member joined their team.

"Ready to get going, Eevee?" Nick asked as the normal type jumped onto his shoulder. It was getting late now and they needed to get out of these woods. Smiling at the pokeball, Nick opened it up as Phantump appeared on his other shoulder. "You ready, Phantump?"

"Phan!" It cried out happily as they started to walk through the woods.

Maybe it was a chance meeting that they met, but Nick felt like it was destiny that he met Phantump. They were alike, but also different. Both were alone, but now they had a family to help them both get over their loneliness.

* * *

 **Well, what do you think. Hope it helps explain Nick's character and why he's kind of obsessed with Ash in my main story. For someone who always seems so happy, he went through a lot at a young age.**


End file.
